The Library of Congress, Contracts & Logistics Service, 1701 Brightseat Road, Landover, MD 20785

D -- UPGRADED VERSION OF THE MINARET CLASSIFICATION SOFTWARE SOL INC96-8 DUE 040796 POC Melissa A. Stevenski, Contract Specialist, (202)707-8606. The Library of Congress intends to negotiate with Cactus Software, Inc., New York, NY to provide an upgraded version of the Minaret Classification Software. The Library of Congress completed conversion of the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) into USMARC records using a customized version of the Minaret Software provided by Cactus Software, Inc. The classification database consists of about 500,000 USMARC records for Library of Congress Classification numbers and captions. The specifications for encoding are in the USMARC Format for Classification Data, a standard prepared by the Network Development and MARC Standards Office. The database uses the Minaret UNIX version and is available through a telnet connection to a minicomputer at the Library of Congress. The upgraded version for the software will perform the following tasks: enable the system to become a production database by providing transaction logging; enhance maintenance capabilities; simplify access by providing additional links between records; speed up the classification process by providing a calculator function; allow catalogers in different subject areas to separate portions of the schedules and make searching more efficient; improve the functionality and display by providing a graphical user interface; allow catalgoers to customize their ''copy'' of the database; provide links between the classification database and bibliographic and authority databases at the Library; provide a hierarchical orientation of more effective use of the system. This software is proprietary software and is not in the public domain. If other firms have the capabilities which meet the needs described above, detailed information regarding that expertise must be provided to the Contract Specialist no later than 30 days from date of this notice. NO SOLICITATION SHALL BE ISSUED. See Note 22. (0085)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0028 19960326\D-0003.SOL)